DOWNES: STAYING UP IS OUR CUP FINAL
Defender wants Pep’s City at The Den in next round
MURRAY WALLACE used to wash dishes in a Chinese restaurant as he dreamed of making a living playing football.
Tonight, he hopes Millwall will clean up in the FA Cup quarter-final draw.
The Scottish defender (above) ended AFC Wimbledon’s FA Cup dreams with a fifth-minute header. He also helped turf out Everton in the fourth round.
Having negotiated the trickiest of ties against the Dons, conquerors of West Ham, Murray and his Millwall team-mates, now remarkably in the quarter-finals for the second time in three years, want a home tie from tonight’s sixth round draw.
One thing for certain, few will fancy going to The Den.
It was the Peking Village restaurant in Eaglesham, near Glasgow, where the teenage Wallace used to wash dishes while making his way through Rangers’ youth sides.
Wallace said: “It was a bit of pocket money washing dishes, £20 and a free meal at the end of the night, so can’t complain.
“A picture of me on the wall there now? Nah, I don’t think so. They won’t even know who I am, I barely spoke to the owners. I was in the kitchen – not front of house. They kept good-looking people for that.”
With Premier League teams falling by the bucketload in the Cup this season, there is an opportunity for a team outside the top flight to etch their name in history. But Wallace would relish playing Manchester City at home.
He added: “That atmosphere at The Den against Everton was unbelievable. We want more nights like that.
“It’s not very often I get the winner – it’s not often I score!
“The pressure was on us after Everton, but we stood up to that well. We were composed and stuck to our game plan. You’ve got try to focus, stick to the basics. The incentive’s there, the quarterfinal of the FA Cup.”
With tight, compact Kingsmeadow packed with 4,795 fans, it was a classic FA Cup setting.
Millwall, like West Ham, could easily have come unstuck against Wally Downes League 1 battlers. Struggling in the Championship, they almost got off to the worst possible start when Joe Pigott volleyed Shane Mcloughlin’s cross against a post.
But then Ryan Leonard got away, crossed accurately – and there was Wallace at the far post to bullet home his header.
The Dons had their chances, Michael Folivi shooting wide, Deji Oshilaja heading over, but Millwall defended stubbornly.
In fact, Neil Harris’ team could have increased their lead – Dons keeper Aaron Ramsdale pulling off a great save from Aiden O’brien then turning Leonard’s shot around the post.
Right at the death, the Dons could have taken the tie to extra time, but Dylan Connolly volleyed wide.
For them, it is back to the struggle against the drop and a trip to Rochdale tomorrow. A return to real life. WALLY DOWNES watched his gallant Dons go out of the FA Cup – then told them they face 14 cup finals to save their League One skins.
The Dons are rooted to the bottom of the division, seven points from safety after just one win in eight games.
Their moment in the FA Cup sun was fun – but at Rochdale tomorrow night, reality returns.
The Dons manager (above) said: “I have to use this as a gritty lesson and use the fact that they competed with a team from the division above.
“Going to Rochdale we are not going to be underdogs. We have to impose ourselves and go and win the game.
“If you’re playing a team in the division above and you create a chance early, you’ve got to take it because you know they’re going to be very efficient at what they do.
“If they get a chance, they’re going to punish you and that’s exactly what happened.
“On the day, we were a match for Millwall and there was a hair’s breadth between us.”
Wimbledon’s win over West Ham in the last round was yet another reminder of the glorious memories this competition can conjure up.
Downes added: “Fans will remember days like West Ham for the rest of their lives and pass down the folklore.
“Anyone who isn’t putting out the strongest side for their fans isn’t doing their club justice.
“We have missed the chance to get to the FA Cup Final, but we now have 14 cup finals.
“There is only one target left – and that is staying up.”